University College Dublin is Ireland’s largest and most richly diversified university. UCD traces its origins to the Catholic University of Ireland, founded in 1854 by Cardinal John Henry Newman, author of the celebrated text “The Idea of a University”. The UCD’s key initiatives include providing a top-notch education with the resources, programming, training opportunities and innovation needed to be a leading institution in Europe.

With over 23,000 students UCD offers over 70 degree courses and doctoral degrees in seven different practice areas. The 320 acre campus provides a unique mix of academic facilities, research institutes, library and archival collections. UCD is rich in tradition and scholarship and situated just 5km outside the city center, one of Europe's fastest growing cosmopolitan urban areas.

Language Requirements

No language requirements. All instruction in English.

Term Schedule

Students choosing to study at University College Dublin can opt to attend the university for the full academic year or for one semester in the fall and spring.

Fall Semester

September to mid-December

Spring Semester

Mid-January to mid-May

Full Year

September to early June

The program at the University College of Dublin is designed to give students a chance to study International Human Rights Law, European Law, Commercial Law, Intellectual Property/Information Technology and Criminal Justice in an Irish law school.

This module will provide students with an introduction to the nature and scope of International Economic Law. In particular, the module will examine the nature of the law established through the creation of World Trade Organization, with particular emphasis on the process of dispute settlement in international trade. After this discussion of dispute settlement, the seminars will concentrate on the general principles of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Articles I and III) and the exceptions (Articles XX, XXI, XXIV and Special and Differential Treatment) before concluding with a discussion of a number of the agreements concluded during the Uruguay Round. Throughout the module reference will be made to an actual dispute making its way through the process of dispute settlement.

Politics of Development

This course introduces students to key concepts, theories and themes in the political life of developing countries. The first part of the course explores the legacy of colonialism and the nature of the post-colonial state, the role of nationalism in the construction of the post-colonial order, political participation and the role of the military, and the impact of the Cold War on the developing world. The second part of the course focuses on key themes in the politics of the developing world including religion, ethnicity and gender. The module concludes with a focus on the related issues conflict, democratization and human rights.

Theory of Human Rights

Human rights play a peculiar role in contemporary national and international affairs. They are, first and foremost, moral rights that all human beings should be guaranteed, but they also require implementation in positive law and institutions. This module will examine some of the most prominent theories of rights and examine some of the problems that arise from human rights talk and human rights implementation. These include various challenges to the idea of human rights, conflicts between rights, human rights and democracy and the relation between human rights and distributive justice.

Trademark Law

The module is concerned with trade mark law. The module will deal with the following: theories of trade mark law; statutory trade mark registration and infringement; unregistered protection of trade indicia; the expansion of passing off and the development of unfair competition law; the development of international trade mark law; the use of trade marks in regulating parallel importation and comparative advertising; remedies for trade mark infringement; reform of European trade mark law.

Dublin, the capital of the Republic of Ireland, enjoys one of the best settings of any European city. Stretching around the wide expanse of Dublin Bay, few parts of the city are far from the sights and smells of the sea, while many center-city streets seem to end in a vista of mountains.

Dublin was originally a Viking settlement known as Dyflin, the Black Pool. Being the principal city of Ireland for most of its thousand-year history, Dublin experienced a period of rapid expansion in the eighteenth century when it attained the status of one of Europe's great cities, replete with magnificent squares and stately public buildings.

Small by present-day international standards, Dublin nevertheless has the resources of a capital city with a full and varied cultural and intellectual life. Both the National Museum and the National Gallery are conveniently located in the city center. In the work of its writers, playwrights, actors, and musicians Dublin is exceptional. It is renowned particularly for its theatrical life. It boasts established theatres (such as the Abbey and the Gate) and small experimental theatres, like Trinity’s Players. In the literary field the contribution of Dubliners has been outstanding. Jonathan Swift, Oliver Goldsmith, Oscar Wilde, Bernard Shaw, W.B. Yeats, James Joyce, and Samuel Beckett are only some of the most prominent names. A particular feature of Dublin life is the tradition of live music. From street busking, to the National Concert Hall, to the singing pubs, traditional music still lives and flourishes.

Dublin, with one of the youngest populations of any of Europe’s major cities, offers an unusually congenial atmosphere for students. While the economic upsurge of recent years has brought a proliferation of fashionable boutiques and expensive restaurants, there’s a profusion of second-hand bookshops, street markets, fast food outlets and ethnic eateries of all kinds, many located in the revitalized Temple Bar opposite the front entrance to the College.

Each year the International Programs department and the Office of Financial Aid work together to create an appropriate semester or year budget for the program.